The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success. The members met and played in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School under the name Pezz and remained underground in Toronto's indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into legal trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewicz's connection with an employee of Warner Music Canada's A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success. Since then, Billy Talent has made three multi-platinum records in Canada and continues to expand their success overseas; this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their third album, Billy Talent III, in 2009, and their fourth album, Dead Silence, in 2012. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour throughout October and November 2012. To commemorate the longevity since the release of their first studio album, the band has released a greatest hits album entitled Hits in 2014. In 2015, they began to prepare material for their fifth studio album. Just before entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk decided to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings was quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuk's studio stand-in, and, in early 2016, the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, which was released in July of that year. The band's most recent album is Crisis of Faith, released in January 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Talent
Studio albums
Billy Talent (2003)
Billy Talent II (2006)
Billy Talent III (2009)
Dead Silence (2012)
Afraid of Heights (2016)
Crisis of Faith (2022)
Burn the Evidence
Billy Talent Lyrics
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And for his next monthly installment,
He's gonna go out with a bang!
Boy who always did what he was told,
Was promised to be king when he was old
Hit the brakes, hit the glass,Time to shake the hands of fate
The mistakes of the past,
Flashed before his face
There is a man, intensive care
When he awakes he will declare,
"I've been dead for twenty years!
I won't let twenty more go by"
Boy who always did what he was told,
Bought the only dream that he was sold
Hit the brakes, hit the glass,
Time to shake the hands of fate
The mistakes of the past,
Flashed before his face
Burn the evidence, of my existence,
Clear the ashes on the ground
Burn the evidence, of all these things,
That pull my spirit down
Ever feel like you've been cheated,
Following what they believe?
Don't shake the hands of fate,
Don't shake the hands of fate,
There's no more time to waste!
Burn the evidence, of my existence,
Clear the ashes on the ground
Burn the evidence, of all these things,
That pull my spirit down
Burn the evidence!
Don't shake the hands of fate,
There's no more time to waste!
The lyrics of Billy Talent's "Burn the Evidence" tell the story of a man who is fed up with his life and decides to end it all. The opening verse describes a luxury car parked in a garage, which the man plans to use to "go out with a bang" by crashing it. The second verse introduces another character - a man in intensive care who wakes up and declares that he's been dead for twenty years and won't let twenty more go by. This seems to be the catalyst for the first man's decision to take control of his life and "burn the evidence" of his existence.
The chorus urges listeners not to follow the expectations of others and waste precious time. The repetition of the line "Don't shake the hands of fate" emphasizes the idea that we should take control of our own lives instead of leaving them to chance.
Overall, the lyrics of "Burn the Evidence" are a cautionary tale against blindly following the expectations of others and living a life that feels unfulfilling. The imagery of burning evidence and shaking hands with fate adds a sense of urgency and finality to the message.
Line by Line Meaning
In a garage, beside a house, there is a luxury sedan
There is a luxury car parked beside a house, in a garage.
And for his next monthly installment, He's gonna go out with a bang!
The person who owns the car plans to destroy it by the next monthly installment.
Boy who always did what he was told, Was promised to be king when he was old
The person who always obeyed promises to become a king later in life.
Hit the brakes, hit the glass, Time to shake the hands of fate The mistakes of the past, Flashed before his face
The person had an accident that made them reflect on their past actions and try to repent.
There is a man, intensive care When he awakes he will declare, 'I've been dead for twenty years! I won't let twenty more go by'
A person in intensive care acknowledges that they've been living without really experiencing life and decides to not let that happen again.
Boy who always did what he was told, Bought the only dream that he was sold
The person who always obeyed realized they only believed in the dream they were sold.
Burn the evidence, of my existence, Clear the ashes on the ground Burn the evidence, of all these things, That pull my spirit down
The person wants to get rid of everything that is weighing them down and affecting their life negatively.
Ever feel like you've been cheated, Following what they believe? Don't shake the hands of fate, Don't shake the hands of fate, There's no more time to waste!
The person feels cheated by following what others believe and decides to take control of their own life instead of leaving everything to fate.
Burn the evidence! Don't shake the hands of fate, There's no more time to waste!
The person reinforces their decision to get rid of everything that is holding them back.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: AARON SOLOWONIUK, BEN KOWALEWICZ, IAN D'SA, JON GALLANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind